It will be 50 years before next moon mission, says astronaut Andy Thomas

IT'S &quot;mind-boggling&quot; that it will take humans at least 50 years to return to the moon, Adelaide-born astronaut Andy Thomas says.

Education editor Sheradyn Holderhead

The AdvertiserJanuary 9, 201310:43pm

IT'S &quot;mind-boggling&quot; that it will take humans at least 50 years to return to the moon, Adelaide-born astronaut Andy Thomas says.

Houston-based Dr Thomas, who flew four space shuttle missions, said there was an essential need for society to look for evidence of extraterrestrial life.

"I think it's a pity it's going to be 50 years before humans will return to the moon ... it's mind-boggling," he told The Advertiser. "It's a pity, for example, that Neil Armstrong never saw humans return to the moon (in recent years).

"It's possible that, in the distant past, life formed on Mars and it would be amazing for us to send humans to explore it.

"I think that should be a human imperative to do that because that will tell us about ourselves, that will give us a much more honest assessment of ourselves and our place in the universe and I think we need that ... for social, political and philosophical reasons."

Dr Thomas was speaking at the Southern Hemisphere Summer Space Program hosted by UniSA in collaboration with the International Space University in Adelaide.

This is the third year UniSA has hosted the program for university students from all over the world studying in an area relevant to space.